Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. opens at Harborplace

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is now open at Harborplace. The restaurant and market takes over the old Phillips anchor space. The restaurant will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

The restaurant is owned by Houston-based Landry's Inc, which refers to itself as "America's biggest dining, hospitality and entertainment company." Their holdings include casinos, resorts, hotels and such formerly independently owned restaurants groups as McCormick & Schmick's and Morton's the Steakhouse. Bubba Gump and The Oceanaire are more recent acquisitions, acquired by Landry's in 2010.

Landry's owner, CEO and chairman Tilman Fertitta was one of 21 newcomers on Forbes 2012 list of the World’s Billionaires, debuting at 854.

Bubba Gump, "the first restaurant group based on a motion picture," features alongside its moderately priced seafood menu a fun Alabama atmosphere filled with "downhome decor" and a retail store selling clothing and souvenirs like boxes of chocolate and "RUN, Forrest, RUN" license plates.

A grand opening "preview" for the restaurant, at which the mayor is scheduled to make an appearance, is scheduled for Thursday morning.

The first Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market opened in 1996 on Cannery Row in Monterey, Calif., according to the company's website.